Senate panel OKs Cottam for board of education

Thursday

Mar 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM

By Linda Borg Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Senate Committee on Education voted unanimously to confirm Barbara Cottam, executive vice president of Citizens Financial Group, as the new chairwoman of the Rhode Island Board of Education.

If confirmed by the full Senate, she will replace Eva-Marie Mancuso, the no-nonsense chairwoman whose support for state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist was unwavering.

Cottam has a long history of service in Rhode Island. She was press secretary for the late Gov. Bruce Sundlun. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, Crossroads Rhode Island and LaSalle Academy.

At Wednesday’s hearing, senators questioned Cottam’s stand on a number of controversial issues, from the new standardized tests to charter school expansion.

Cottam said she supports both the state’s Common Core academic standards and the new test, the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC. She said the PARCC tests, which began in Rhode Island this week, are required by the federal government. But she said she has heard that some communities are concerned about over-testing students. She awaits the results from a working committee looking into this issue.

Cottam also expressed her support for charter schools but said the way they are funded should be considered when new charters are proposed.

“We all benefit from some of the work that charters have done,” she said. “One size doesn’t fit all.”

A couple of senators spoke of what they perceived as a lack of communication between the Board of Education, the Council for Elementary and Secondary Education and the Council on Post-Secondary Education, which oversees higher education. Cottam promised to open up communication between these groups.

Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count, described Cottam as “someone who never gives up until the job is done.”

Diane Franchitto, president and CEO of Home & Hospice Care, called Cottam a good listener who is calm and collaborative. “Barbara,” she said, “is the real deal.”

On a related front, James Karam, one of Governor Raimondo’s nominees for the higher education council, confirmed that he is part of a casino proposal located in Somerset, Mass. Karam said he was brought in to handle the permits and development end of the casino plan. Karam is the president and CEO of First Bristol Corp.